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THE problem of coal wastage isn’t new. It is, in fact, a multi-faceted issue that has exercised minds over many decades.

This newspaper today reports the comments of some experts who criticise the coal industry for discarding too much potentially valuable coal in its spoils. It is thought that up to 25per cent of the total volume of coal dug up in the valley is discarded, representing a significant loss of a resource that has cost a lot – in financial, social and environmental terms – to unearth.

That’s one element of wastage.

People with ties to the coal industry going back many decades might remember the arguments that used to rage over the allegedly wasteful extraction practices employed in underground pits on the coalfields around Cessnock.

Mine owners were charged by critics with sterilising millions of tonnes of superb quality coal because their focus was on speed of extraction and profits, rather than the maximum exploitation of the mineral resource.

At that level, the debate is practically ideological.

Perhaps similarly ideological is the charge, by the Minerals Council industry lobby group, that government delays in approving new mines and pit expansions are ‘‘threatening about 8600 jobs’’ in the Hunter Region alone.

Given the coal market is already known to be grossly oversupplied (that’s why prices are depressed) it seems unlikely that all these new projects could be viable. Even if all were approved, it seems most unlikely they could co-exist with the mines already open.

Mining industry leaders have already observed that, for supply and demand to realign, some mines will have to close.

Assuming that’s so, it seems at least some of the new jobs created by newly approved mines must be offset by the loss of jobs in the mines that can be expected to shut. It is also apparent that the mines most at risk of closure in an oversupplied market are those with the highest per-tonne cost of production – usually those most labour intensive.

Some might regard that as wasteful.

As for coal left in spoils, this most likely occurs because the mining companies aren’t fully convinced that investing in the technology needed to extract the last dregs of coal will generate an adequate return to justify the expense.

If it was clear that the exercise would be economic, the mines would almost certainly spend the money.

Anecdotally, examples exist of miners investing in technology to extract more coal from spoils, only to find the results in the field haven’t lived up to expectations.

Viability of recovery operations depends on the price of coal and the cost, efficiency and reliability of the techniques on offer.

That’s a matter that mine owners are in a position to assess for themselves.

HUNTER mines throw away more than a quarter of the coal they dig up each year, dumping about 30million tonnes or almost $2billion worth as waste.

As the fight for land and water resources intensifies in the region, the Newcastle Herald can reveal that mountains of coal are discarded into voids, tailings dams or pumped back underground.

Experts describe the waste as ‘‘disgraceful’’ and call for legislation to ensure resource use is maximised.

Ross Garling, of Green 4 Ever Pty Ltd, has spent 20 years recovering saleable coal from mine tailing dams or similar repositories, and said vast quantities of the valuable commodity were being wasted.

‘‘I don’t think it’s acceptable at all. I think the mines should have to look at their existing circuits to make it more efficient,’’ he said. ‘‘They should be recovering all that coal, they should be recovering everything they can. It was given to them to maximise the yield, it’s just wasteful to throw away a resource that could be sold.’’

Data obtained by the Herald reveals that on average Hunter mines sell about 75 per cent of the coal they dig up.

Some mines throw away almost half of what they mine, while others sell 100 per cent.

Different coal types, quality, geology and technology used account for the vast differences.

Mr Garling said the tide was slowly turning with two of the major players in Australian mining recently seeking advice on recovery systems.

A NSW Resources and Energy spokeswoman confirmed there were no guidelines on how much coal the mines had to use once it was dug up. She said it was in the industry’s ‘‘interest’’ to sell as much as possible and coal recovery was ‘‘improving all the time’’.

He said inventing technology to maximise coal recovery had been ‘‘pursued vigorously’’ for more than 50 years with varying success.

‘‘People have been looking for years at ways of improving recovery, but it’s very complicated because each mine presents a different set of situations,’’ he said.

‘‘It has to be economical and that’s been the difficulty.’’

Separating saleable coal, from clay and rock, is one of the biggest challenges and millions have been invested in research and technology.

With coal prices slumping, swallowing what was once described as ‘‘super profits’’, many believe the industry must continue to innovate.

‘‘Production at all cost is no longer the story,’’ Mr Randall said. ‘‘When prices are high it doesn’t matter how inefficient you are because there’s still an opportunity to make a lot of money. A period of low prices will refocus people’s minds on innovation, the big push for the last eight years has been more tonnage.’’

As mines push for expansion in the Upper Hunter, disaffected residents – fed up with the noise, dust and pollution – ask how much more the valley can endure.

As at March 2012, open-cut mining had disturbed about 120square kilometres in Singleton and 53square kilometres in Muswellbrook.

Camberwell resident Deidre Olofsson, whose battle with mining goes back more than a decade, said the industry’s massive financial contribution to the economy and state coffers made it appear untouchable.

She said there was a need for stronger controls to make miners maximise the region’s resources.

‘‘In many ways the community feels like it’s being eaten alive by the constant push for expansion,’’ she said.

‘‘When I think about the Hunter, I think they have destroyed it. The environmental legacy being left behind is a major concern.’’

‘‘You expend an enormous amount of greenhouse gas to get a product out of the ground and then throw some of it away – it’s far from efficient,’’ he said.

‘‘We need legislation that says if you mine so many million tonnes of coal, give us a guarantee you will use a certain percentage of it.

‘‘The cost of recovery is slightly greater than the cost of ripping it out of the ground and putting it on a boat and tailings dams are a huge environmental liability.’’

Research conducted at Stratford mine in 2008 by Phil Crisafulli and Tony James found that, on average, in excess of 10 tonnes of coal per hour was not being recovered.

An Upper Hunter mine executive, who declined to be named, said coal companies were responsible to shareholders focused on profits.

He said mines were interested in unlocking billions of dollars’ worth of extra coal to extend the industry’s life.

Chairman of the Australian Coal Preparation Society, Wayne Barnett, described maximising yield as the ‘‘holy grail’’ of mining, but said it was an extremely difficult science due to the vast differences in coal at each mine.

‘‘There is no doubt that it always comes down to economics,’’ he said. ‘‘But we are always striving to find better ways to process coal more efficiently and more cost effectively. It’s all about the quality of the coal and what you can use it for. There has to be a market.’’

The NSW Minerals Council declined to comment.

DOWNTURN: Tom Allchurch.

TOM Allchurch learnt the hard way about the lack of Australian interest in recovery of waste coal.

His UK-based firm RecyCoal, in operation for more than 40 years, set up an office in Brisbane several years ago. It lasted three years, until the coal price slump.

Sculpture by the Sea 2014 People admire ‘Save Our Souls’ by Cave Urban during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Marks Park, Sydney. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

‘Crossing the sky by boat’ by Peter Tilley is displayed during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Marks Park. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

‘My house is your home’ by Ken Unsworth is displayed during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Marks Park. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

People meditate inside ‘We’re fryin’ out here’ by Andrew Hankin during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama Beach in Sydney. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

A surfer walks past ‘Gift of the Rhinoceros’ by Mikaela Castledine during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama Beach. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

‘Vessels of Destiny’ by Melissa McElhone is displayed during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Marks Park. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

‘Men playing with birds’ by Wang Shugang is displayed during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

‘Wind Stone’ by Koichi Ishino is displayed during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

‘Permanent Sunrise’ by Alejandro Propato is displayed during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

‘Hybrid House’ by Tasmin Salehian is displayed during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

‘Our memory in your place’ by Byeong Doo Moon is displayed during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

Alejandro Propato adds the finishing touches to ‘Permanent Sunrise’ during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

‘Our memory in your place’ by Byeong Doo Moon is displayed during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

‘Ring’ by Peter Lundberg is displayed during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama beach. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

Sculptor, Peter Lundberg of the United States poses with his sculpture ‘Ring’ after winning the Macquarie Group Sculpture Prize during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama beach. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

New South Wales Premier Mike Baird, Sculptor, Peter Lundberg of the United States, Macquarie Deputy Managing Diretcor Greg Ward and Sculptures by the Sea Founding Director David Handley during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama beach. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

A woman walks through ‘Counter’ by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Tamarama Beach. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

A man photographs ‘Currawong’ by Lou Lambert during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Marks Park. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

‘Watch This Space’ by James Nguyen and skywriter Robert Vance is seen in the sky during the 2014 Sculptures by the Sea exhibition over Marks Park. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

“That is the big challenge for the country – it is not the demand side but the supply side that needs addressing.”: AMP chief Craig Meller. Photo: Ben Rushton/Fairfax Media via Getty Images “That is the big challenge for the country – it is not the demand side but the supply side that needs addressing.”: AMP chief Craig Meller. Photo: Ben Rushton/Fairfax Media via Getty Images

“That is the big challenge for the country – it is not the demand side but the supply side that needs addressing.”: AMP chief Craig Meller. Photo: Ben Rushton/Fairfax Media via Getty Images

“That is the big challenge for the country – it is not the demand side but the supply side that needs addressing.”: AMP chief Craig Meller. Photo: Ben Rushton/Fairfax Media via Getty Images

Financial services group AMP Ltd has provided an upbeat trading update for the third quarter to September 30, 2014, more than doubling cash flows into its wealth management arm and retaining more policy holders in its life insurance division.

“The focus on Asia continues to deliver results and the performance of our insurance business is in line with guidance,” Mr Meller said.

Australian wealth management net cash flow for the quarter was $476 million, more than twice the $206 million recorded in the same period last year.

Total assets under management grew to $105.2 billion, up from $103.8 billion for the June quarter.

Average assets under management also increased by 2.6 per cent.

In AMP’s Australian wealth ­protection division, which sells life insurance, the annual premium ­in-force grew by 6.2 per cent from the previous quarter to $1.935 billion.

The growth was primarily driven by a 4.6 per cent increase in individual lump sum insurance and a 16.6 per cent increase in group risk insurance as a result of premium rate increases.

The rate of policy lapse in AMP’s insurance business was in line with best estimate assumptions provided in previous guidance.

The calculated cost of underwriting policies, known as “claims experience”, also continued to perform ahead of expectations.

Initial analyst reactions to the trading update were mostly positive.

“The trend of improving net flows and recovery in life bodes well for AMP’s outlook,” said Morgan Stanley analysts led by Daniel Toohey.

“Markets are driving a cyclical recovery and investors have over-reacted to risks to the life business,” he said.

Among highlights noted by the Morgan Stanley analysts, AMP’s wealth platforms showed a 79.2 per cent increase in inflows from the previous corresponding period. This included a particularly strong performance from the North platform.

Morgan Stanley also noted strong organic growth in the self-managed super fund sector, which almost doubled.

Damien Tudehope, who served as chief of staff to former NSW attorney-general Greg Smith, is set to succeed his old boss in the state seat of Epping after winning Liberal party preselection on Thursday night.

Mr Tudehope easily defeated Mr Smith’s son Nathaniel in the preselection by 103 votes to 26. Another of Mr Smith’s former staff, Noel McCoy, withdrew from the contest at the last minute after it became apparent he did not have the numbers to win.

Mr Tudehope, 61, is aligned with the hard Right faction of the NSW Liberals and is a former spokesman for the socially conservative Australian Family Association.

It is understood his win was facilitated by the determination of the Left faction and Right wing powerbroker Jai Rowell, who is the Minister for Mental Health, to prevent Mr McCoy from winning the seat.

Mr Tudehope has a controversial history in the Liberals. He has previously run against the party as an Australian Family Alliance candidate for the NSW Legislative Council.

Before the 2011 state election, he took the part to court during a preselection battle in the seat of Baulkham Hills, in which he was the unsuccessful candidate.

Mr Tudehope, who is a solicitor, is set to become the next member for Epping, which is a safe Liberal seat and is held by a margin of 27.5 per cent.

Mr Smith announced he would retire from politics at next year’s election after being dumped as attorney-general in April in a cabinet reshuffle brought on by the resignation of Barry O’Farrell as premier.

Liberal party rules mean Mr Tudehope is unable to comment until his preselection is endorsed by the state executive.

The great southern rail journey between the Pacific and Indian oceans involves three nights and four days of travel.

The great southern rail journey between the Pacific and Indian oceans involves three nights and four days of travel.

The great southern rail journey between the Pacific and Indian oceans involves three nights and four days of travel.

The great southern rail journey between the Pacific and Indian oceans involves three nights and four days of travel.

SUNDAY DEALS NOVEMBER 2

Deals edited by JULIETTA JAMESON

Get going

GO NOW

SPAIN AND MOROCCO

A Christmas departure of Insight Vacations’ 18-day Treasures of Spain, Portugal and Morocco tour is now $499 off. It features Insight’s Signature Events such as a dinner and Flamenco show in Seville. December 21 departure only costs $3500 a person twin share when booked before November 14. Phone 1300 301 672. See insightvacations上海龙凤论坛m.

PHUKET

Escape to luxury Phuket resort Sri Panwa for Christmas. Deal includes three nights in a one-bedroom ocean view pool suite, champagne on arrival, transfers, a Thai dinner, spa treatment for two plus more. The Baba Pool Club will feature a special Christmas menu. From around $3785 (THB108,000) a room twin share for stays including Christmas Eve.

On sale until November 6 and valid for departures January 16 – March 31, 2015. Phone 1300 234 909. See directflights上海龙凤论坛m.au.

SYDNEY

Vibe Hotel Rushcutters is offering a family room for a price that essentially equates to two rooms for the price of one. The package includes a guest room with a king bed and an interconnecting room with two single beds.

From $171 a night (usually around $300). Sale and stays till December 31. See tfehotels上海龙凤论坛m.

GO LATER

SINGAPORE AND AUSTRALIA

A 20-night cruise and rail package including a cruise on Legend of the Seas and a train journey on the Indian Pacific represents savings of up to $3000. In the package, three days in Singapore, 14-night SEA and northwest Australian coast cruise, then an Indian Pacific Australian crossing.

See Paris, the Riviera, Bordeaux, and more during a 12-day Highlights of France tour, now $500 off June 3 or September 23 departure. Includes return economy airfares to Paris, 11 nights accommodation in three-star hotels, some meals and excursions.

The world’s largest nautical event, the 8000-boat Sail Amsterdam, will unfurl in the Netherlands in August, 2015, and Cruise Express is providing a chance to be part of it. This 16-night holiday package starts with a flight from Australia to Oslo on August 13, 2015; then there’s three nights’ accommodation in the Norwegian capital before the eight-night voyage aboard the 310-passenger Wind Surf from Oslo to Dover, England. Visit the Norwegian port of Kristiansand before arriving in Amsterdam on August 19 for the grand Parade of Sail. There’s an overnight stay in Amsterdam, then Dutch and Belgian port calls till arrival in Dover and three nights in London. The return flight is from London.

The price is $7999 a person, twin-share. Phone 1300 764 509. See cruiseexpress上海龙凤论坛m.au.

Delhi: Feeling tied up by the red tape spooling from the silos housing Canberra’s public servants? Suspicious, even, that those bureaucrats are not working hard enough to clear your particular piece of paper?

Imagine a system, then, that allowed people not only to see what percentage of public servants were at work on any day, but also check whether a public servant was actually sitting at his or her desk.

Welcome to the world of India’s sprightly new Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who recently launched a website that allows his country’s 1.2 billion citizens to see exactly how many of their notoriously work-shy civil servants are on the job.

Known colloquially as “babus”, once a term of respect that now leans towards the pejorative, membership of organisations such as the Indian Administrative Service is hard won – in 2012 more than 500,000 people applied and just 170 were chosen – but the rewards are generous.

A job for life that in time comes with a car, heavily subsidised housing and generous retirement pensions that all but guarantee a life of relative luxury in a country beleaguered by poverty.

Utilising a biometric identification system pioneered by Indian engineers, people can log on to the website attendance.gov.in at any time to check who among 56,000 registered employees across 149 departments are at work.

Under the new system, government employees must scan either their fingerprint or iris, preventing a friendly colleague from logging on someone and helping them “ghost” for the day.

With Mr Modi famous for his rigorous schedule – he reputedly puts in 18-plus hour days, working from 5.30am until 1am – India’s public servants have been ordered to turn up by 9am and not leave before 6pm.

“How dare you ask me such a question?,” said one unsettled official queried this week about why she had arrived at work at 11.27am. “I take public transport you know. It’s not so easy to come to work.”

Whether that explained why she left work 4.09pm, and not after 5.30pm as might be expectedat a minimum, we never got a chance to ask.

Other officials quizzed on their punctuality expressed similar indignation, complaining that the new system was a gross invasion of their privacy and that time spent sitting at a desk was not an accurate measure of how hard they worked.

The effectiveness of the new system is yet to be determined.

Statistics for the last five work days, not including the current Diwali holiday period, indicate an attendance level of 27,000 employees – less than half of those registered, with at least one-quarter not turning up to work until after 11am.

The measures are popular with the public, especially on the social media website Twitter, where users have not hesitated to express their glee that the “rule of the babus” is being challenged.

Out on the streets recently and armed with a straw broom as part of his initiative to clean up India, Mr Modi may have other changes in store for those on the public payroll; especially the system that allows recalcitrant employees who are suspended for repeated truancy to remain on near full-pay while their case is investigated – a process that usually takes several years – and then often found not guilty and allowed to return to work.

Whether Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott would be prepared to implement a similar scheme is unknown – but he will have time to ask for more details when Mr Modi addresses the Australian parliament next month.

Abigail and Poppa Ken Harper, who spends about an hour every day volunteering in Soldier’s Point Public School’s reading recovery program, has been nominated for NSW Community Grandparent of the Year 2014. Picture Peter Stoop KEN Harper’s treasured granddaughter Abigail is many things: loving, bubbly and articulate.

‘‘But most of all, she’s my mate,’’ Mr Harper said.

‘‘When she sits in the back of the car you’ll catch her eyes in the rear view mirror and she’ll say ‘Love you Poppa’ – that’s really special.’’

Mr Harper visits his daughter’s home every morning to pick up the seven-year-old and take her to Soldiers Point Public School, where for three years he has also been a grandparent figure for many of her classmates.

He spends about an hour every day volunteering in the school’s reading recovery program, which includes listening to a student read aloud and providing corrections for any mistakes, before meeting with four students and using games to help improve their literacy skills.

For this work and for also acting as a chaperone on various excursions, the school has nominated Poppa Ken – as some of the teachers call him – as one of three finalists for Community Grandparent of the Year.

It is one of three categories in the NSW Grandparent of the Year awards, with winners to be announced in Sydney on Sunday.

‘‘I honestly don’t consider that what I’m doing is very much at all,’’ he said.

‘‘What I do is an absolute pleasure and privilege and this nomination was the last thing I expected.’’

Mr Harper also looks after Abigail after school and during the holidays while his daughter is at work, helping with homework and to indulge her current fascination with dragons.

But for everything Mr Harper does for his granddaughter, he says she does even more for him.

He was a full-time carer for 13 years for his late wife, who passed away in January 2011 after a long illness.

‘‘I was a lost soul – you come out of a caring job and think ‘I have nothing to do’,’’ she said.

‘‘Helping my daughter with Abigail was a blessing in disguise.’’

‘‘I just hope she knows – and I think she does – that no matter what happens in the world, she can confide in Poppa and he can get to the bottom of things and try to make things better.’’

Newcastle University Students Association president Clare Swan.THE Newcastle University Students Association has welcomed reports the Abbott government is offering to ditch or delay controversial elements of its sweeping higher education reforms, but say the concessions don’t go far enough.

Association president Clare Swan welcomed reports on Friday the government appeared to be ‘‘backtracking’’ after announcing in its May budget the most radical reforms to higher education policy in 25 years, including deregulating university fees, applying a real interest rate to student debts for the first time and cutting university course funding by 20 per cent.

‘‘On one hand they want us to go to university and improve our education, but on the other hand we’re being punished for it,’’ Ms Swan said.

Fairfax Media reported yesterday the government was willing to concede on parts of the package to secure a deal with Senate cross benchers to support fee deregulation, ahead of a Senate debate on the government’s higher education bills next week.

This could include reducing the 20 per cent course funding cut to 12 to 15 per cent.

Universities had opposed the 20 per cent chop, saying they would have to increase their fees by 20 per cent to maintain current resourcing levels.

‘‘If fees go up some students won’t be able to afford university,’’ Ms Swan said.

‘‘We graduate the highest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical students in the country, 26 per cent of our students come from a low socio economic background and we have a huge number of mature age students studying for a second chance – what’s going to happen to them?’’

Fairfax Media also reported the government was willing to abandon its unpopular plan to peg student debt to the 10-year government bond rate instead of inflation.

Combined with a plan for students to start repaying loans at a lower income threshold, the move had been expected to hit women and poor graduates the hardest.

‘‘The government tell us that if we go to university we’re going to get higher incomes, so we undertake debt hoping there’s going to be some compensation – but the truth is a lot of jobs don’t offer that.’’

Ms Swan said one third of all graduates enter the workforce in positions that don’t require a degree, meaning those saddled with any student debt begin their careers at a disadvantage compared to their colleagues.

A spokesperson for Education Minister Christopher Pyne told Fairfax Media: ‘‘The government is continuing to discuss the higher education reforms with the cross bench Senators and as the Minister has previously stated 80 per cent of something is better than 100 per cent of nothing.’’

Ms Swan said students were planning a forum to discuss deregulation in November.